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 After tea he worked again till a quarter to six; then he paid Pollyooly, went out, and left the studio to her ministrations.

She found brooms and brushes and dusters, all very dirty, in the very dirty little kitchen; and she was glad that Hilary Vance had required her to sit to him in her blue print working-frock. She swept and dusted with an eager vigor till half-past seven. For the last hour of her toil the Lump slept on Hilary Vance's bed.

When she had done she wrote a note to the artist, and set it on the mantelpiece. It ran:

"Please, Mr. Vance, the rugs ought to be taken outside and shook and the floor scrubbed."

Then, filled with a gratifying sense of having accomplished a meritorious task, she conveyed the sleepy Lump home.

The next afternoon Hilary Vance welcomed her buoyantly, his large face shining richly with a warm satisfaction. "I had to be very firm with Mrs. Thomas; and I was," he cried with beaming pride. "The memory of your pained face, Pollyooly, nerved me to the